I'm such a lemming

Most of the time when everyone's doing something I don't want to do it. I hate the Oprah's book list, and I for sure wouldn't wear a pair of crocs. However, sometimes people know what they're talking about. An example of this is Amber's soft pretzels. They have gone around and around and around my cooking board. Everyone loves them. Myself? I have a weakness for soft pretzels. So much so that I avoid them because I have a hard time not eating a bunch of them. But its been a rough week and I deserved a treat. So I turned to Amber's recipe. And they are just as wonderful as everyone says they are. Jon loved them too. Even Ringo got a little taste and he most definitely approved.

See sometimes it pays to be a lemming. Lemmings get yummy pretzels.

Amber's Soft Pretzels

Ingredients:
1/8 cup hot water
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/3 warm water
1/3 cup brown sugar
4+ cups flour
Coarse kosher salt
Baking soda
Butter or shortening (to generously grease cookie sheets)

Directions:
In a large bowl mix together hot water and yeast until the yeast dissolves. Stir in the warm water and brown sugar and stir until the brown sugar dissolves.

Slowly add 4 cups of flour, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the mixture is smooth and does not stick to the sides of the bowl.

Lightly flour counter. Dip your hands into extra flour. Knead the dough until it is stretchy and smooth. (Push it down and away from you with the palms of your hands, turning the dough as you work)

Grease cookie sheets generously with butter or shortening. Sprinkle greased cookie sheet(s) with kosher salt. Preheat oven to 475. (It is very important that you grease the cookie sheets very well)

Using liquid measuring cup fill a large saucepan at least 1/2 full of water. For each 1 cup of water, add 1 tbls baking soda.

Divide the dough into equal sized pieces.

Using the following 4 steps shape each dough ball into a pretzel shape...

1). Roll the dough into a rope 14" long and as thick as your thumb. Bend the dough into a U shape. (if you have trouble rolling the dough into a rope slightly wet your hands and try again).

2). Cross one end of the rope over the other one. The ropes should cross about three inches from the tips.

3). Twist the crossed ends, making a full turn. Fold the ends back, towards the middle of the U.

4). Open the ends slightly to form a pretzel shape. Press the ends into the dough firmly.

Bring water into saucepan to a gentle boil (not to many bubbles) Use pancake turner to lower each pretzel into the saucepan. Count slowly to 30. Then lift the pretzel onto the greased and salted cookie sheet (shaking off excess water back into the saucepan). Repeat until all the pretzels are done.

Sprinkle some kosher salt on top of the pretzels and put them in preheated oven. Bake for 8 minutes or until the pretzels are golden.

Pizza Party!

If you don't know by now, I'm on an online message board known as What's Cooking. I love the board because its a great place to find recipes. The same recipes circulate around and around the board and that's how you know they're good. The best end up on our own WC blog - Now that's what's cooking. And so last night when I wanted to make pizza, I knew exactly where to turn to find my crust recipe. This recipe comes from Allrecipes.com, a site I tend to avoid because there are too many recipes and I don't trust them. However, once they make it onto the WC blog,they become so much more trustworthy. This crust recipe was excellent however, if you're going to use it for a buffalo chicken pizza like I did you might want to bake the crust a little first before topping it. Frank's buffalo chicken sauce isn't very thick, so it tends to soak into the dough and then the dough never gets that great pizza dough consistency.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza made with Jay's Signature Pizza Crust (from Allrecipes)

1/2 packet active dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F / 45 degrees C)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 grilled chicken breast, chopped
Franks hot sauce
1/2 red onion sliced
1 celery stalk, sliced thinly
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit 10 minutes.

2. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 1 1/4 cups of the flour.

3. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until doubled in size; approximately 1 hour. Punch down the dough and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax a little before rolling out.

4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise 15-20 minutes before topping and baking it.



5. Top pizza with Frank's Hot Sauce, then veggies and chicken, then cheese.

5. Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

I love it quick and hot

Get your mind out of the gutter! I'm talking about dinner. I love when dinner is easy and takes no time to prepare. And really? It doesn't get any easier than quesadillas. I think this is one of the first things I ever learned to make. You see, where I grew up in backwoods Pennsylvania, Home Ec was a required class. And 1/3 of Home Ec was cooking. And the first thing we made? Quesadillas. Seriously, in PA this is about as ethnic as it gets.

I was inspired by Joelen's recent post where she made eggplant quesadillas. Except, as we all know, I can't eat eggplant without getting very very sick. But Joelen also had a recipe for spicy roasted chicken which looked a whole heck of a lot like the SP sticky chicken which I make a lot. It gave me the idea to use the sticky chicken in a quesadilla. Nice and spicy with a little bit of Spanish swiss cheese to contrast.

Spicy Chicken Quesadillas

2 breasts chicken
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
olive oil
4 flour tortillas
swiss cheese

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Combine all seasonings in a small bowl and mix.
3) Season chicken pieces with seasoning mix liberally.
4) Place seasoned chicken in pyrex baking dish
5) Pour olive oil over chicken.
6) Bake in preheated oven uncovered for 30 min, or until done.
7) Allow chicken to cool, coarsely chop
8) Place 1 tortilla in hot pan over medium-high heat.
9) Add chicken and cheese, fold over and cook until cheese is melted.
10) Flip and cook other side for 30 sec.
11) Repeat with remaining tortillas, cheese, and chicken.

Cause I have Soooo much free time...

I am embarking on another blogging event. I'm sooo excited to be back in my kitchen (an even larger kitchen than the old apartment) it makes sense to up my blogging events to two. This one is hosted by Erika of Bean's Bistro.

"But Kate," you may ask, "what IS this event?" It's called Homegrown Gourmet and it's meant to spotlight local flavors/cuisines. Here are the rules:

• Anyone can play!
  
  
• A theme will be picked by the host. Participants will make a dish that follows the theme and that somehow represents their home region- town, state, area. Representation can feature a local ingredient, be a traditional dish from your area, or be a creative twist.
  
  
• Participants will have 3-4 weeks (host discretion) to complete their recipes and post them to their blog (or email the pics and text), and notify the host. The host will then post the results and then let everyone know via email or message board the results are up!
  
  
• An explanation of your dish is required; it can be a story about the local custom or ingredient, how you came about eating/ making the recipe, or an explanation about how your creative dish fits the theme.
  
  
• Fresh and local foods are encouraged!
  
  
• When the round is done, the host will announce their favorite dish by updating their blog. Favorite is completely subjective to the host- no one expects the host to make and taste test all the dishes, it is just something that strikes the host's fancy! The creator of the fave gets the honor of hosting the next round, if they so choose!

This round is sandwiches.


Whenever I think about "local" California foods, my mind goes straight to avocado. I grew up on the East Coast and avocado was never a regular menu item/ingredient. Perhaps that's because avocados aren't available year round, or maybe east coasters just aren't into avocado. All I know is, once I moved to Cali, avocados showed up EVERYWHERE. I definitely consider them a California fruit/vegetable (does anyone know what they are?) So of course I had to incorporate that into my sandwich.

I worked at El Torito Grill for years during college. ETG is known for their tableside guacamole. They charged $8 for it when I worked there, and that was years ago. I had to make it every night for about half my tables. Needless to say, I am now a guacamole expert. My guac is the talk of all my friends and family who specifically request it when they invite me to parties. I figured this would be perfect on a sandwich.

And another little tidbit about California? We're uber health conscious. No smoking, big on going to the gym, and really? burgers? not so much. My California sandwich features the CA meat of choice - chicken. I would have grilled it, but I haven't unpacked my grill pan yet. Never you mind, the baked chicken worked just as well.

So here it is in all its glory, my first entry into the Homegrown Gourmet - Cali Chicken Sandwich.

Cali Chicken Sandwich

1/2 chicken breast
salt
pepper
cumin
chili powder
1 hamburger bun, toasted
1 romaine lettuce leaf
2 slices swiss cheese
1 Tbsp guacamole (recipe below)

1) Season chicken with spices.
2) Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until done
3) Place lettuce on hamburger bun and top with chicken
4) Top chicken with cheese and guacamole

Guacamole

1 1/2 avocado
1 jalepeno, diced
salt
pepper
1/2 lime
1/2 cup pico de gallo (I make mine with diced tomatoes, cilantro, onions, lime juice)
garlic powder

1) Spoon avocado from peel and into shallow bowl
2) Add jalepeno, salt and pepper, and juice of lime
3) Mash well - making sure to crush the jalepeno completely or you will have a burning mouth later.
4) Fold in pico de gallo and garlic to taste - DO NOT MASH! You want the guac to be nice and chunky - don't crush the tomatoes!!!!

The Magic Letter "B"

Ah, the letter B. The inclusion or absence of this letter can change the meaning of a word so much. For instance, C-A-R is a fuel burning vehicle. Add, a B and all of a sudden you actually have fuel. For me, the letter B was very important yesterday. If I had hung signs everywhere saying "Garbage Sale" no one would come. However, simply by removing the letter B, all my stuff became things people would want to buy at a "Garage Sale."

Many thanks to Diane opened her garage for all our stuff - although she didn't do too badly herself! We managed to sell everything that wouldn't fit in our new apartment and made a neat little bundle of cash. And more importantly, we didn't have to move huge pieces of furniture we don't have room for. Diane herself made a nice little profit selling some of her old clothes.

Because we're good people, we donated all that we didn't sell to Goodwill - so really, everyone made out in the end.

Jon, Ringo, and I are firmly ensconced in our new home. And once I get all the boxes unpacked it will really be a home. But last night was no time to start. Instead I headed over to Liz's for a girl's night in. I love going to Liz's place because:
1) The food is ALWAYS amazing. Last night Liz served us homemade tamales and tres leches cake.
2) The company. Liz always makes you feel so welcome, doesn't mind when you talk during a movie, and lets you put your feet up on the couch.
3) The newest reason? The dogs. Liz has had Denny ever since I've known her. He's a 9 month old....?????? (No one's really sure, and every time I see him I throw out any ideas I already had - there's definitely some shepherd but who knows what else!) BUT Liz, has just opened her heart and home to a new sweet boy - Gizmo. Liz and Bill were going to start out fostering, but now that they've met him, they're not sure they'll be able to give him up. And after meeting him, I can't blame them. He's a 5-7 yr old golden retreiver. He's both beautiful and sweet.

Us girls ate dinner, watched tv, and just vegged. It was so relaxing - exactly what I needed after this past week. And then after I got to go home to my husband and puppy. So nice, so cozy.

Moving is for girls

There are two schools of thought about moving.
1) Get it all over as quickly as possible (lets call this the bandaid method)
2) Do a little at a time till its all done (the masochistic method)

I don't really know that one is better than the other. The bandaid method requires you to put in one or two KILLER days. Dusk till dawn. Your body aches. You hate everyone - most especially the person you're moving with. This is what I always think when I decide to choose door number two. Except, after 3 weeks of moving, I can tell you it is also a poor choice. I'm so sick of moving. I still have long days, there's always more to do than you think, and we've been living out of boxes for almost a month now. Some break! The good news is, its almost over. The old place is almost empty - save for a few things we're transporting over to Diane's for a garage sale this weekend (come one, come all! our trash is your treasure!). I spent the entire day scrubbing and cleaning. My hands are raisin-like and swollen from being in water all day. I don't know that I'll ever smell of anything but bleach. I'm tired, I'm crabby, and I keep forgetting to eat and drink. Bah!

The only thing I'm thankful for is that I was smart enough on Sunday to make chili. I put the crockpot on in the morning and we've had dinner this week. Which is nice, considering I'm not home before 8....

Before law school I never used a crockpot. I have vague memories of crockpot stew from when I was younger, but I can't guarantee that wasn't something I saw on television. We weren't a crock pot family (although we had two... one of which I stole when I went off to law school). Once I started pulling law school hours however, the crockpot became my closest friend. Chicken, pot roast, soup, and of course - chili. This is a suuuuuper easy chili recipe (Diane can attest since she watched me make it) but it always turns out really well. I love it because I always have these ingredients on hand, so I know I can make it in a pinch. And for my friends watching their calories, please note there is NOTHING bad in this! It's even a turkey chili for goodness sakes!

Crockpot Turkey Chili

• 1 lb ground turkey

• 1 can kidney beans, drained

• 1 can diced tomatoes and chilies, drained

• 1 med. onion, coarsely chopped

• 1 green pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 2 tbsp. chili powder

• 1/2 tsp. pepper

• 1/2 tsp. cumin

• Salt and pepper to taste

1) In a large saucepan brown the turkey and drain off the fat.
2) Put all ingredients in crockpot.
3) Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours.

It's Meme time again!

This Meme is brought to you by the letter......
Okay, its actually not brought by a letter at all. Instead its brought to you by a feeling of guilt. See, I was tagged by Aline, and I didn't even know she had a blog! I'm a terrible person. Maybe that should be one of my facts. Since the last meme, the game has grown and now 8 facts are required. 8? I'm not even all that interesting a person!

"Apparently the way the game goes when you’re tagged I have to share 8 random facts about myself and then tag 8 other people to share 8 more other facts about themselves..."

1. I have lived in 5 different states. I was born in New York. When I was 2 we moved to Florida. When I was 5 we moved to Massachusetts. When I was 7 we moved to Pennsylvania. When I was 15 we moved to California where I currently reside. Once in 4th grade, when a teacher asked me why we moved so much I told her it was because my parents were wanted by the FBI.

2. I have a very prestigious, useless degree. When I tell people I graduated from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television they are always impressed. Except when I am looking for a job and then I am treated like I graduated from clown college.

3. I used to have pet rats. Every year at science fair time I would think of a project that required me to get a new pet. One year I decided to do a Skinner box with rats. We went to the pet store and asked for 2 male rats. We brought them home and my brother and I began hand taming them. About 2 weeks after we got them, I was attempting to run one through a maze and the rat was bleeding! I thought they must have been fighting so I went to return him to his cage so he could rest. That's when I saw all the rat babies in the corner (guess hand taming works). Turns out the pet store had given us two pregnant female rats instead of two male rats. We had 14 rats and they kept reproducing. Once we saw what the males looked like, we were especially confused because there is no way to mistake a female rat for a male rat.

4. I have a black belt in karate. My whole family started taking Tang Soo Do (a South Korean martial art) together. We studied for 6 years before getting our black belts. We made the local paper. I actually used to compete (and win) in tournaments.







5. I'm a tv star. Okay, not quite, but I did appear on the children's television show "Great Pretenders" when I was in high school. The show was hosted by Wild Orchid:
(anyone there look familiar? Why yes that IS Fergie!) and was a competition where groups were dressed up to look like rock stars, given choreography and lipsinc songs. Think of it as an early American Idol.

6. I have an irrational fear of cruise ships. I think I was on the Titanic in a past life. When I was in 6th grade as part of a creative writing project I wrote a story about a little girl who survived the sinking of the Titanic by assuming another little girl's identity (like Prince and the Pauper). I found the story years later and the details such as times and visual images are spot on. Creepy? Yup sir.

7. I have one sibling, a brother, and he's the funniest person I've ever met. We didn't always get along, but since we've gotten older we're very close. He's got all the good genes. He's smart, handsome, athletic, and artistic. Everyone who meets him either loves him or is supremely jealous of him.
















8. I was in a sorority in college. 3 of my closest friends were in the sorority with me. I think all of us have been blacklisted from the sorority for one reason or other. We were the "bad" class.







Okay, here are my eight tagees! Chelly, Jill, Erika, Bella, Sarah, Peabody, Jen, Tara. Go forth and conquer.

Grapety Goodness

It's summer. It's hot. It's the perfect time for salads! I decided to use the ingredients for this week's Platinum Challenge to create a great summer salad. Once again, the ingredients are grape, basil, black beans, avocado, and rice.


This salad uses grapes, basil, and rice. I used spinach as a base, because, well, spinach is the best for summer salads. The wild rice added the nutty flavor I love in a salad, and the grapes paired so well with blue cheese! Jon really liked the salad, he took one bite and told me how good it was. Yay for summer salads!




Supplementary, I've been waiting to make a cool drink ever since I saw Sarah's entry in the first Platinum Chef Challenge. She made a strawberry basil cocktail and I thought it was a brilliant idea. In case you haven't picked it up, I'm kinda obsessed with herbs in my drinks this summer (mint, sage, basil...) So I took the baton and headed off. Instead of strawberries I used grapes and basil, muddled together in the bottom of a glass. I topped this with some with some fresh squeezed lime juice, vodka, and 7-up, served over crushed ice. It was yummy!

Summer Spinach Salad

Dressing:
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Salad:
1 3/4 cups water
2/3 cup uncooked wild rice
1Granny Smith apple, cut into 8 wedges
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 cups trimmed spinach
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Directions:
Dressing:
1. Combine first 8 ingredients in a jar. Cover jar tightly, and shake vigorously; set aside.

Salad:
1. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the wild rice; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until tender.

2. Combine apple wedges and 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice in a small bowl, and toss well. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add apple mixture. Cook for 6 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.

3. Combine cooked wild rice, spinach, chicken, grapes, and cheese in a large bowl. Add the dressing, and toss well. Top each serving with 4 apple wedges.

You can take the girl out of Mexico...

Seriously, every time the new Platinum Chef Challenge comes out I immediately think "hmmm that sounds like it would be great in "insert Mexican dish here". I'm not sure if its the California sun that has fried my brain, or if its the fact that I'm still dreaming of Puerto Vallarta. Or maybe I'm just not as creative as my second grade teacher would have be believe.

This week's ingredients: Rice, black beans, avocado, grapes, and basil just SCREAMED Mexican to me. Okay, maybe not the grapes and basil, but the rice, black beans and avocado? Why they can be used in practically every dish! Enchiladas, salads, fajitas, tacos, or burritos! We haven't had a burrito in so long, I thought it was about time. Jon's mom makes black bean enchiladas all the time, so I thought a black bean burrito would be a nice twist on that. I feel kinda cheater-y, because really, this is the easiest thing ever to make, but hey, you didn't make it, I did. So I'm the boss and it is officially my first entry into this week's Platinum Chef Challenge.

Black Bean Burritos

1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup salsa
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 flour tortillas
2 tablespoons Trader Joe's spicy black bean dip
4 tablespoons shredded cheese (I like the 3 cheese Mexican blend)
1 peeled avocado, cut into 6 slices
4 cilantro sprigs
2 lime wedges

1. Spread 1 tablespoon bean dip over each tortilla

2. Top each tortilla with 1/4 cup rice

3. Combine salsa and black beans in a small saucepan; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top each tortilla with 1/3 cup black bean mixture.

4. Add 2 tablespoons cheese.

5. Add 2 avocado slices

6. And 2 cilantro sprigs

7. Roll up. Serve with lime wedges.

It's good to laugh sometimes

Today, I loaded up my car and headed to the LBC (Long Beach City for the uninitiated).
What did I load my car up with? Hot girls.
And why were we heading to Long Beach? To meet some more hot girls.

Cat, Diane, Jessica, and I headed up to Long Beach to meet up with some of our LA counterparts - girls who talk sassy, dress cool, love the same people we love, and dislike the same people we dislike. I will leave it to Wee-Mo to give you full details, since she spins a yarn like no other (seriously, does anyone else feel like this blog was taken over by the ghost of a 90 yr. old lady? Who says "sassy" and "spins a yarn"?).

I will tell you the part that WeeMo doesn't know about - the drive up. During which we had to make an emergency pit stop at a McDonalds because a certain person (who was dressed all in black) had to be sick. Have you ever asked a McDonald's employee for a large cup someone could throw up in? I have. Luckily my car was safe, and the trip was without consequence.

The brunch itself was phenomenal. I haven't laughed like that in a long time. Not since some reeeeeaaaalllly old Get Togethers we used to have, back before all the crazies came to town. It was sooo great to meet the LA girls, all of whom I always felt were the hipper, cooler counterparts to us OCers (I mean, they're like our city cousins!)

On the drive home Diane entertained us with stories from an online site she lurked on because it was so weird. Girls on the site talked about how they ate blankets and paper to stay thin. The laughing continued alllll the way home. Sometimes its nice just to have some girl time!

It's a Boy!

The Knot fosters some very strange relationships. I have heard a rumor that it was not always this way, but my "class" of '06 brides all became very close. I think its because no one understands the stress of being a bride better than other brides. That, and misery loves company.

Now, its not really "strange" to have relationships with people over the internet...as long as it stays over the internet. What is strange is how these online relationships have spilled over into real life (In Real Life, or IRL if you will). Even after our weddings were over, many of us still kept in touch, involved in one another's life.

I met JP on the knot and was immediately inspired by her DIY (Do It Yourself) creativity. She was one of those girls. You know, the ones who did everything by hand perfectly. A little Martha Stewart. And she was impossibly sweet. When she announced she was pregnant, we couldn't have been happier. I think 50 people told her she was going to be an adorable pregnant person (just a side note - she is).

Today was JP's shower. She's having a boy. Mr. JP is going to be sooo thrilled. And the shower was a ton of fun too. There were three of us "online friends" there. (Well 2 1/2 since Jessica knew JP before The Knot). It's always fun to go to weddings and showers where you get to tell the other guests you met the bride/mom online. JP really is just the cutest pregnant person you ever saw. And she's 8 months along! Which according to the Orange County trend means the baby could come ANY SECOND!

Proof that great minds think alike, Sara and I both showed up in matching ensembles, and with matching gifts. But this is a word of warning to never invite us both to the same event.

Hot and Spicy

My favorite Indian food of all times is Chicken Tikka Masala. It's a stable when I go out, and I've taken to stocking up on Trader Joe's Masala Simmer Sauce for when I need my fix at home.

But last night, I decided to embark on a cooking adventure. I decided I would make my Chicken Tikka Masala from scratch. Now, this is definitely not an easy feat. Especially when I'm not in my home kitchen (we're house sitting for the 'rents). I actually had to make a trip to our local store because the supermarket by my parents doesn't have garam masala, a necessary ingredient.

I got this recipe from Food and Wine, and aside from the exotic ingredients - it looked pretty easy. So I set to work. Jon helped by making some brown rice to serve with it since, sans rice cooker, I am the world's worst rice maker.

I kept getting more and more excited as I cooked - the fragrant aroma drifting through the kitchen. I was a little concerned about the color because it was so red, but as soon as I added the cream it became the gorgeous orange color we all know and love.

Just as the smell and look matched my expectations, so did the taste. It was exquisitely spicy. Amazingly tasty. Definitely as good as the restaurants and far surpassing the bottled stuff (which I am afraid I can never go back to again). I'm so glad I took the risk, because it was worth all the effort. I can't wait to eat the leftovers!

Chicken Tikka Masala (from Food and Wine)

Ingredients

MASALA MARINADE:
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
Salt and freshly ground pepper

CHICKEN:
2 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, fat trimmed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup blanched whole almonds
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons garam masala
1 1/2 teaspoons pure chile powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
One 35-ounce can peeled tomatoes, finely chopped, juices reserved
Pinch of sugar
1 cup heavy cream

Preparation

1. MAKE THE MASALA MARINADE: In a large glass or stainless steel bowl, combine the yogurt, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, cardamom, cayenne and turmeric. Season with salt and pepper.

2. PREPARE THE CHICKEN: Using a sharp knife, make a few shallow slashes in each piece of chicken. Add the chicken to the marinade, turn to coat and refrigerate overnight.

3. Preheat the broiler and position a rack about 8 inches from the heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade; scrape off as much of the marinade as possible. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and spread the pieces on a baking sheet. Broil the chicken, turning once or twice, until just cooked through and browned in spots, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and cut it into 2-inch pieces.

4. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil. Add the almonds and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer the almonds to a plate and let cool completely. In a food processor, pulse the almonds until finely ground.

5. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until shimmering. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden, about 8 minutes. Add the garam masala, chile powder and cayenne and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes with their juices and the sugar and season with salt and pepper. Cover partially and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Add the cream and ground almonds and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes longer. Stir in the chicken; simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, and serve.

Mexico- Part 3

Canopy Tour
One of the reasons we chose to go to Puerto Vallarta was because of my friend Jessica's honeymoon pictures. And the "seal the deal" pictures involved her and her husband on a canopy tour - sailing between trees on cables. I did some research and decided on Los Veranos Canopy Tours because they had the most cables, the longest cables, and the highest cables. We took a shuttle to take us into the heart of the jungle. Unfortunately, because of the rain, there was a mudslide and the road was closed. No fear, we simply walked through the blockage and to the otherside where another shuttle was waiting for us. When we got to Los Veranos, they gave us a demonstration and harnessed us up. Jon and I were both a little scared, but I was the only one babbling. Once I got past the first couple of cables though, I kinda got into the swing of things and I was good to go. I soared over rivers and canyons - it was the coolest feeling. Even with 14 cables it was still over too fast. Jon's nerves started to show on the longest cable and he forgot the instructions to keep his knees pulled in. "Come look at your man" the guide told me. Jon was stuck in the middle of the cable, pulling himself by hand to the end. Poor baby. The guide gave him a lecture after. He managed to do okay after that, though the last cable was a race between the two of us and I won.







After the tour we had lunch beside the river. Then we went to the "animal room" where we got to feed a couple of monkeys and play with a boa constrictor. True jungle living. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience.

Yelapa
Originally, we had planned on doing a daytrip up to Sayulita so Jon could go surfing. But Jon had a surfing accident the week before we left and his back was in no condition for surfing. Instead, we planned a day in Yelapa - a fishing village only accessible by boat. We caught the water taxi there, and once there we hiked up to the waterfall. It was a great waterfall, thanks to the rain, and we enjoyed swimming in the pool at its base. We ate lunch on the rocks and then hiked through the village to the beach. The village is very small, but brightly colored houses dot the verdant landscape. When we finally made it out to the beach we understood why this has become such a hot spot. The green hills, turquoise waters, and white sands. We laid on the beach for a while before seeking shelter at one of the Palapa stands. We also met the pie lady and had an amazing piece of coconut pie. We were having such a good time, we almost missed the last water taxi home! Luckily we caught it just in time and took it back to Puerto Vallarta for a last walk on the Malecon.




We spent our entire last day laying beside the pool and recounting what a wonderful trip we had. Mexico is beautiful, the people are warm and friendly, and the trip was such a nice break. I definitely recommend Puerto Vallarta because it has something for everyone. Families, couples, and even groups. Maybe All-Inclusive means more than just food and drink!